Wines £30-£45

Areore is a field blend from the vineyard that surrounds the winery. Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Tocai Friulano combine to offer a truly beautiful, very complex and really long wine. The grapes are pressed slowly and remain in the press overnight before starting co-fermentation next day. Open top stainless steel for the start of the fermentation then taken from the skins and moved to large oak once the initial phase is complete. Remains on fine lees in cask for 12 months but with no battonage, bottled and rested for a further 4 months before release.

Intense, deep ruby red colour. The nose is complex, with red fruits and notes of spice, as well as a great mineral content coming from the granite that constitutes the soil. In the mouth it is elegant, with good structure, lots of energy and good acidity. This makes it fresh, vibrant and juicy, as well as helping the wine in its potential in the bottle.

Good fruit concentration and weight with an open quality. Complex notes of plums and black cherries with a hint of cocoa and cloves.

It is at once full-bodied and sweet, a rather splendid marriage of generosity and finesse. Notes of plum and blackberry mingle with a whisper of tobacco and a courteous nod of clove, creating a harmony of fruit and spice that feels almost orchestral. The wine carries itself with a certain quiet authority—powerful, assured—and yet it closes with disarmingly soft, sweet murmurs that linger long after the last sip.

Chanzy is a 80 hectare Estate, divided between Côte Chalonnaise, Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits with their base in Bouzeron. They are one of the few Burgundy producers to achieve Haute Valeur Environnementale level 3; the most highly regarded certification for agriculture in France. Their farming regime demands a holistic outlook that goes beyond organics: ensuring biodiversity, reusable energy and reduced water usage. The vineyards are in conversion to organics and will be certified from 2024 vintage onwards.

This wine has slightly straw colour undertones with pale gold reflections. Its aromas of white flowers combine with honey and are reminiscent of gingerbread. On the palate, its elegance is sure, pleasant while retaining the freshness of the grape variety without giving in to excess mellowness.

Chanzy

A delightful nose of honey and peaches, delicate and graceful on the palate with traces of citrus fruit and spice. Very elegant and perfectly balances with a refreshing crisp long finish.

Maison Roche de Bellene

Weingut Horst Sauer is named after its owner. Both Horst and his daughter Sandra (who joined the winery in 2004) are winemakers at their 37 hectare estate in Franken - situated near Wurzburg (between Frankfurt and Nuremberg). Their vineyards are focused around the ‘Erste Lagen’ (prime) sites of Escherndorfer Lump and Escherndorfer Fürstenberg. Escherndorfer Lump is a steep south-facing slope protected from cold north-eastern winds, with a top layer of limestone-rich soil.

This is the exquisite Escherndorf am Lumpen - a ‘Grosse Lage’ vineyard plot (a classification given to the best German vineyard sites) first recorded in 1655. This is on the steepest slopes of the Escherndorfer Lump vineyard where the vines are over 30 years old.

Franken Riesling is considered to be the most masculine expression of the variety from Germany (in stark contrast to the femininity of the Mosel) yet from the grand cru (GG site) this full bodied, bone dry Riesling is impressive in its structure and concentration.

Selected from selected blocks from the best and oldest of Esk Valley's vineyards, the "Great Dirt" collection are veru much chief winemaker Gordon Russell's pet passion, made to age gracefully and showcase the terroir of the different sites

Aromas of rose petal, red berries and grilled meats are compelling. The wine is round and mouthfilling with a red fruited profile, but a firm tannic backbone provides complexity and length